HARDWOOD RECORD 



A feature worthy of notice in the prepara- 

 tion of blocks for a veneer machine, is that 

 logs which have dried out somewhat steam 

 or boil to better advantage than those which 

 are soaked with water from lying in the 

 log pond or in the river. This difference is 

 so marked that old veneer men will hardly 



27 



ever put a water-soaked block into a boiling 

 vat or steam box until it is rolled aside and 

 allowed to dry a while. Boiling blocks in 

 water is generally conceded the best prep- 

 aration for veneer cutting, but to take a 

 block soaked in water and boil or steam it 

 does not give the same result. 



In the School of Experience. 



Dovetail, Mortise and Tenon. 



A writer in The National Builder says that 

 the mainstay of constructive woodwork is 

 the mortise and tenon. A piece (if woodwork 

 which can be put together without glue, nails, 

 or screws, and serves its purpose, is an ideal 

 work of construction; but this is not always 

 possible. Another principle of construction 

 is that every piece of wood should be so 

 placed that it can swell or shrink without in- 

 juring itself or displacing any other piece. 

 This is maintained in an ordinary paneled 

 door, providing no moldings are inserted. 

 Another principle is that miter joints should 

 be avoided, whether for molded work or not, 

 for the reason that shrinkage causes all miters 

 to open. No piece of wood should be used 

 unless the straight grain of the wood can be 

 seen through its full length in one place. In- 

 serted moldings should be avoided as far as 

 possible ; and all moldings for panel work 

 should be worked on the stiles and rails. It 

 is a general principle, observed in the best 

 medieval joinery, that all moldings on rails 

 which are horizontal should butt against the 

 stiles ; and that stiles should be either plain 

 or should have moldings stopped before reach- 

 ing the joints with the rails. In practice all 

 rail moldings may be worked the whole length 

 of the stuff used ; and if muntins (which are 

 the middle stiles) are used, the moldings may 

 be cut away to the square wood before the 

 mortise is cut which is to 'receive the tenon 

 of the muntin. Thus the moldings will butt 

 against the square sides of the muntin. All 

 the parts for a door thus made can now be 

 got out by machinery. 



The dovetail is a constructive device, and 

 the dowel is admissible in places as a substi- 

 tute for the mortise and tenon. Tonguing and 

 grooving is a legitimate device, both for ends 

 and sides of boards. Beveling the edges of 

 the pieces thus joined is better than beading. 

 The best way to construct large panels is to 

 make them of narrow strips, tongued and 

 grooved and beveled at the joining edges. 

 Such panels will never "draw." The shrink- 

 age will be divided between all the joints. 

 Solid table tops should never be fastened with 

 glue or screws, but should be secured with 

 buttons fastened to the under side of the top. 

 which travel in grooves cut in the framework 

 to allow for expansion and shrinkage. These 

 are but a few of the principles to be observed 

 in doing the best woodwork. All boards cut 

 on a radius from the center to the periphery 

 of a tree will remain true, while all others 

 have a tendency to warp or crack. The first 

 are called quarter-sawed. It is a peculiarity 

 of oak that the best grain is found in quarter- 

 sawed boards. It is only in these that the 



"silver grain" is seen. This consists of a 

 ribbon of very hard substance, which grows 

 out from the center of the tree. It is for 

 this reason that oak is the most enduring 



W I: it has a grain two ways. 



Hints on Glue. 



A correspondent of Packages says that 

 ground glue may be soaked about twenty 

 minutes, but that is not absolutely essential. 

 As a general ride, ground glue requires very 

 little soaking. 



Flake glue may be soaked in cold water 

 over night before using. All dirty spots must 

 be avoided. They should be cleaned out every 

 time before using a different kind of glue. 

 For soaking glue fresh water must be used. 



Glue should never be heated in a pot that 

 is subject to the direct heat of fire, as it is 

 very easily burned ami thus rendered useless. 



Seasoning Wood. 

 A writer in the Cabinet Maker says that 

 small pieces of non-resinous wood may be 

 perfectly seasoned by boiling four or five 

 hours. Sash frames of Spanish chestnut have 

 been "wedged up" within six weeks after 

 the tree was felled, which have stood to ad- 

 miration. The boiling seems to take the sap 

 out of the wood, which shrinks nearly one- 

 tenth in the process. 



It is also well worth knowing that trees 

 felled while in full leaf, in June or July, and 

 allowed to lie with their tops and lops on 

 till every leaf lias fallen, are then very nearly 

 dry, as the leaves will not drop of themselves 

 till they have drawn up ami exhausted all 

 the sap iu the tree. The time required is from 

 a month to six weeks, according as the weather 

 is dry or moist. Trees so treated will never 

 push again, or show leaves, as the stocks of 

 winter-felled timber invariably do if allowed 

 to lie, and thus prove that they have lost that 

 vitality which the latter retains. 



The floor of a mill laid with poplar so 

 treated, cut up and put in place less than 

 a month after the leaves fell, has never 

 shown the slightest symptom of shrinkage or 

 other indication of aol being perfectly sea- 

 soned. 



To Polish Floors. 

 A correspondent in the Practical Carpenter 



says that a j: I polish for floors may be 



made by putting a small quanti rma- 



ceti into a on the fire, and mix with 



it enougl pontine to make it quite fluid. 



Then with a piece of flannel put it very thinly 

 on the floor. It must then be rubbed with a 

 dry flannel and brushed in the same »ai 

 0:1k- li hi -1. This part of the 



process, rubbing and brushing, takes a long 

 time, if done thoroughly. 



Another good polish is made by dissolving 

 half a pound of potash in three pints of water 

 in a saucepan on the tire. When the water 

 boils throw in one pound 1 'lit up in 



small pieces; s'ir it well until the wax is 

 quite melted. When the polish is cold, if it 

 is too thick, add more water, then with a 

 brush paint tin- boards evenly with it, and 

 when it has dried, rub them with a flannel 

 nd of a broom. 



Change of Management. 

 An important meeting of the board of di- 

 rectors of the Kenova Poplar Manufacturlnp 

 Company of Kenova, W. Va . was held last 

 week. Considerable general business was 

 transacted, 1 important of which was 



the election of a new corps of officers. This 

 event was occasioned by the resignation of 

 several of the old officers of the compnny 

 The officers resigning were W. A. Smith, 

 president; F. W. Stevenson, secretary and 

 treasurer, and J If RIgg, superintendent. The 

 following named offli 1 lected as suc- 



cessors to Ignlng: E, \v. Houghton 



Chicago, president; M. A Hayward, Colum- 

 bus. O.. general manager; P. E. Way. Chi- 

 cago, secretary and treasurer; Herbert Hay- 

 ward, Columbus, superintendent. The reason 

 for this overhauling In the managerial foroc« 

 of the company has not been made public, 

 but It is apparently occasioned by a disagree- 

 ment over business policy. The company has 

 one of the finest remanufacturlng plants and 

 planing mills In the middle South, and has 

 apparently been under very able ami efficient 

 management In the past. Mr. Hayward, th<* 

 new general manager of the Institution. Is 

 well known to the lumber trade of a large 

 portion of the country, and Is amply eompe- 

 tent to carry on the enterprise In a successful 

 way. 



New Cairo Enterprise. 



The r;re.'r-Yvilkinsnri Lumber Company of In- 

 dianapolis Is erecting a large manufactnr'ng 

 plant at Cairn. The company has purchased 

 thirty seven acres of land In what Is known as 

 the Tecan Grove district, one mile north of the 

 city limits. This tract lien nn both sides of the 

 r.lg Four levee, Just north of Goose Pond, nnd 

 extends to the Ohio river front, which gives It 

 valuable wharfage prlvi! 



Work en the new- plant lias been commenced 

 It will consist of n modem and complete pinn- 

 ing mill, engine nnd holler house, machine shop, 

 electric light plant, two warehouses nnd minor 

 buildings. The main building will he 226x128 

 feet In size, flanked by two warehouses each 

 22r>x7." feet. 



The main products ..r the new factory will he 

 gum, cottonwond. cypress, poplnr nnd yellow 

 pine siding, flooring, celling. Ilnlsh and molding* 

 The Illinois Central railroad will build a spur 

 track to connect Its mnln line with the new In- 

 dustry. The officers "f this company nre s B 

 Greer, president; Alex Stewart, vice president; 

 A \. Wilkinson, secretary, and W. Alexander, 

 treasurer. The local manager of the company 

 Will be Chnpln I.. Itnrr. formerly general man- 

 ager of the Cairo Mill ,t Lumber Company. 



The t'nltcd Walnut Company Of Ft Smith. 

 Ark., is the name of 11 new concern which will 

 tin lid a hand mill with a dally capacity of 

 20.000 limit lumber. About 



lent of ths 

 company Is .T. A. Thompson of Fdlnhurg. Ind. : 

 vice presldi in Thnyer, of Fvansvllle : 



secretary, ' East St. r.oula. III.; 



trensurer. 0. W. McCowen, of Salem. Ind 



